Catherine Capellaro
Madison, WI

The humble Starkweather Creek meanders through Madison's east side through residential neighborhoods, construction sites, and wetlands. It has suffered from abuses due to PFAS pollution and development, but still hosts a thriving ecosystem. Importantly, for me, the Starkweather taught me to paint. Locked down and unemployed during the pandemic, I would stroll down to the creek regularly to sketch and photograph it. At home, I would experiment with oils, acrylics, and watercolors, marveling at how vastly different this same curve of water could appear with various skies. The Starkweather brings me peace in these terrible times; I return to it for solace.

When COVID-19 came to the United States in March 2020, two of my primary channels of expression — writing for a weekly newspaper and performing with VO5 — slammed shut. Like everyone, I didn’t know what was coming, or how long it would last. Without the gaze of the public, I looked inward, trying to find some sort of internal motivation to create. I started playing around with images — in my mind, in photographs, and with watercolor pencils. Here was the moment, the flow, I was looking for. I felt riveted, time disappeared.

I began to look at the world differently, meditating on my immediate surroundings. I live on the edge of an urban wilderness, acres of wetland, train tracks, and small ponds populated by a group of unhoused people, wild turkeys, coyotes, owls, and deer. On regular walks with my sister, I discovered infinite beauty in these humble Midwestern landscapes. One spot I returned to again and again was a bend in the tiny Starkweather Creek. I took hundreds of photos (and borrowed more from my neighbor) and began a study of this landscape. I painted with acrylics, and then moved to oils, and just kept at it. I have made hundreds of paintings since then, many close to home, and some much farther afield. I am still seeking and striving to capture the light, the feeling that I have when I’m in nature. Sharing these paintings has brought me joy and helped me stay connected to the wonder that I feel when I am in nature.

In 2022, I began traveling again, and have found inspiration further from home in Arizona, France, Italy, Portugal, Mexico, and Jamaica. What a beautiful world we live in!